The real estate industry is one of the most competitive industries in the world. In order to succeed, you need to be able to stand out from the crowd and attract clients. To help you, we have listed +21 expert tips on how to get clients in real estate.
Getting new clients takes work. You can’t sit on your sofa and expect them to appear, you have to take continuous steps to get new clients. These are tried-and-true real estate marketing methods that will help you to get more clients.
Check out our +21 expert tips (that really work) on how to get clients in real estate.
+21 Expert Tips on How to Get Clients in Real Estate
- Invest in Customer Relationship Management (CRM tool)
- Create a Professional Website
- Master Social Media Marketing
- Instagram and Facebook Live
- Advertise with Paid Ads
- Create Effective Email Marketing Campaigns
- Set up a Google Business Profile
- Start a Real Estate Blog
- Start a Real Estate Podcast
- Go Out and Meet Other Real Estate Agents
- Host Open Houses For Listing Agents
- Localized Listings Are a Must
- Volunteer in Your Community
- Take a Reporter Out to Lunch
- Use HARO to Turn Your Social Proof Up
- Referrals Are Your Biggest Friend
- Don’t Ignore the Giant Websites
- Buy from Your Potential Client’s Business
- Remember Significant Things about Potential Clients and Follow Them on Social Media
- Business Cards
- Work Your Sphere of Influence
1. Invest in Customer Relationship Management (CRM Tool)
If you don’t have a CRM system in place, now is the time to invest in one. Investing in a CRM tool is one of the best things you can do to build stronger relationships and get more clients. A good CRM tool will help you keep track of your interactions with potential clients, and will speed up many of the tasks associated with real estate sales.
There are a few key features to look for in a CRM system:
- The ability to track your interactions with potential buyers
- A system for managing tasks and follow-ups
- Integration with email
- The ability to create and manage listings through a built-in calendar
- A system for tracking leads
Daylite is our number one choice for a CRM system. It has all of the features mentioned above and is easy to use. Daylite will save you time and allow you to focus on what’s really important to you as a real estate agent: selling more properties and gaining more clients.
Daylite keeps real estate agents like Portland-based Sean Becker and his team on top of the rising demands of their clients. Since discovering Daylite in 2009, Daylite Mail Assistant has been his #1 feature, helping him organize and access clients’ communications.
Daylite is specifically built for Mac users. Daylite has a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.
2. Create a Professional Website
If you don’t have a website for your real estate business, you’re missing out on a key marketing tool. A professional website will help you attract and convert leads, build trust and credibility, and showcase your listings.
How Does a Professional Website Help Me Get New Clients?
A professional website will help you grow your personal brand like nothing else. A personal brand is important because people like to do business with who they trust and feel comfortable with. Creating a real estate website that is well designed, informative, and easy to navigate will help build trust with potential clients and make it easy for them to learn more about you and your business.
Main benefits of investing in a professional real estate website:
- Showcase your listings and testimonials from old customers
- Opportunity to rank on Google and get new clients
- Works as a sales funnel for new potential buyers
Creating a website can be a daunting task, but there are plenty of resources to help you get started. When creating a website, start by choosing the platform.
What Platform Should I Create the Website With?
WordPress is one of the best options for a real estate-based website. WordPress has the best tools for search engine optimization so that your website shows up on Google. If your goal is to expand your website to a real estate blog, WordPress is a go-to option.
A disadvantage of WordPress is that it can be hard to use for beginner website creators. It can also get expensive if you use their premium themes and plugins, which are important to get your website ranked on Google.
Squarespace and Wix are good options if you don’t have a lot of experience building websites, but want to showcase your services. Both Squarespace and Wix are relatively cheap options that have a great customer service team that ensures that your website is built with the least amount of hassle.
A disadvantage of Squarespace and Wix is their limited search engine optimization tools. If your goal is to create a widely known real estate blog/expert site, the best option is WordPress.
Be sure to include:
- About us page (Information about you and your business)
- Your contact information, including your email address, phone number, and social media links
- A professional headshot or photo
- A description of your services
- Testimonials from past clients
- Your listings, with photos, descriptions, and contact information
- A blog with articles about buying and selling real estate, local market trends, and more
Creating a website is a great way to attract new clients and grow your real estate business.
Take Inspiration from These Real Estate Websites
Learn and take inspiration from real estate websites like Carling Wright, Move With Randy, Kyle Handy, and Ryan Serhant.
3. Master Social Media Marketing
There is no escaping social media. If you’re not using social media to market your real estate business, you’re missing out on a major opportunity. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Instagram offer tremendous potential for reaching new clients and growing your business.
How Does Social Media Help Me Get New Clients?
- Allows you to showcase your business to a large audience
- Build a personal brand around your name and become recognizable
- Helps you to become an expert in your area
Successful real estate agents utilize social media strategically for advertising, marketing, and staying in touch with clients.
But it’s not enough to simply create a profile and start posting random content. To be successful, you need to have a strategy and put in the work to build a following.
Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Identify your target audience and create content that appeals to them
- Post regularly and be consistent with your message
- Engage with your followers by responding to comments and questions
- Use relevant hashtags to reach a wider audience
Learn from real estate social media influencers such as Keaneyu, Shanexboyle, and big names like Ryan Serhant. And check out this guide on how to grow your real estate business on Instagram.
Post on Multiple Social Media Platforms
Posting multiple social media posts on different platforms helps you get your name out there on a much larger scale and reach wider audiences.
4. Instagram and Facebook Live
If you’re not using Instagram and Facebook Live to get real estate clients, you’re missing out. By going live, you can show potential clients what your business is all about and why they should work with you. Plus, it’s a great way to build stronger relationships and connect with people on a personal level.
Tips for Using Instagram and Facebook Live to Get Real Estate Clients:
- Use live video to give potential buyers a tour of a property
- Go live from an open house and show people around
- Use live video to answer questions about the real estate market
- Go live from events and networking functions
- Use live video to give potential clients a peek into your day-to-day life as a real estate agent
Instagram and Facebook live are great ways to build trust and show people that you’re an expert in your field. So, if you’re not using live video to get real estate clients, now is the time to start!
5. Advertise with Paid Ads
Paid advertising is a great way to reach new clients and grow your real estate business. Platforms like Google, Facebook, and Instagram offer a variety of ad types that target specific audiences.
Google Ads work well for real estate. To succeed with Google Ads on advertising real estate services, create your ads using geo-targeting. This will allow you to place your ads in front of people who live in the same area as you.
Your Google Ads targeting should be very specific like in the picture below. Potential customers are searching for information, and if you appear on top of Google search with your website, you have a high chance of landing new clients.
Check out a few great YouTube videos on advertising your real estate business with Google Ads.
Be sure to include a call to action so, potential clients know what you want them to do. No matter what social media platform you end up using, make sure your ads are mobile-friendly. Mobile traffic makes up 70% of web traffic, and the number is growing steadily, so making your Google Ads mobile-friendly is more important than ever.
6. Create Effective Email Marketing Campaigns
To get clients in real estate, it is crucial to have effective email marketing campaigns. 99% of consumers check their email daily. Email marketing generates an average of $42 for every $1 spent, which is a 4,200% return on investment. Email marketing offers the highest return on investment (ROI) out of any marketing strategy.
How Can Email Marketing Campaigns Get Me More Clients?
- Keeps you connected to your old, previous, and new potential customers
- Showcase your listings to potential new clients
Don’t make your emails too self-promotional. Provide real value to your email subscribers. The reason they became subscribers was the value you provided.
Start by choosing your email marketing software. Email software tools like Mailchimp are great for keeping in touch with your email marketing subscribers. Mailchimp can be integrated with Daylite, making it the perfect email marketing and CRM combination.
Where Can I Collect Email Addresses?
Your own website is the best way to collect email addresses. Add newsletter forms to your website (Footer is a good place). Exit intent popups work really well (don’t make them too spammy and distracting). You can also collect email addresses on social media.
Email marketing is a great way to stay in touch with potential buyers. Be sure to provide value to your readers, and you’ll see your email list and real estate business grow.
7. Set up a Google Business Profile
What is Google Business Profile?
Google Business Profile is a free tool that allows businesses and organizations to manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps. By verifying and editing your business information, you can both help customers find you and tell them the story of your business.
Here is an example of a Google search “real estate agents near Texas”, where three different Google Business Profiles show up:
How Will Google My Business Page Help Me?
- Potential clients will see your business on Google
- Help with lead generation and showcase your contact information
- Get direct website visitors from Google My Business Page
How To Set It Up
It only takes a few minutes to set up your Google My Business page, and it’s an important step in improving your visibility and ranking in search results. Here’s a quick overview of how to set up your page:
- Visit google.com/business and sign in with your Google account. If you don’t have a Google account, you can create one. Click “Manage Now” on the page and click “Add your business to Google”.
- Follow the instructions and enter your business details.
- Choose a category that best describes your business, and add high-quality photos.
- Once your page is live, it can take up to 1-2 weeks for it to show on Google.
Google My Business is a great way to improve your visibility and ranking in search results. It will show your website, business location, and phone number, and potential buyers can easily connect with you. Don’t forget to get reviews. They’ll help you build social trust and land more clients.
8. Start a Real Estate Blog
A blog is a great way to show off your real estate industry knowledge and attract potential customers who are looking for an expert opinion. Google processes 3.9 billion searches every day. In most cases, it’s a blog that answers questions. What if you were at the top of the search result? This could bring you a lot of free traffic, which could result in more clients.
Here is one example of when a real estate blog ranks first in Google and gets traffic to the website:
How Can a Real Estate Blog Help Me Get More Clients?
- Potential customers search for information about real estate on Google, and when your blog appears on the search, they might click through and stick on the site and check your services.
- Helps your overall website to rank high on Google, meaning when customers search for local real estate businesses, your website will show before competitors.
- Raises your credibility in prospective clients’ eyes.
- Become the local expert with your blog.
For example, you could write about:
- The benefits of homeownership
- The process of buying or selling a home
- Tips for first-time homebuyers or sellers
- The different types of real estate properties
- The real estate market in your area
First, choose a blogging platform (such as WordPress). If you have already created a website for your business, publish your blog posts under the same blogging platform.
To succeed in blogging, you must learn how to rank on Google, how you can build your website authority up, and how to write content that Google likes. Be sure to include high-quality photos, infographics, and videos to make your blog posts visually appealing.
9. Start a Real Estate Podcast
If you’re not a fan of writing or prefer to speak your thoughts instead of typing them out, then starting a podcast may be the perfect solution for you. Not only is it a great way to build up your brand, but it’s also an excellent way to connect with potential clients. And, with so many people working from home, podcasts are more popular than ever.
The real estate podcast trend is not anywhere near dying.
How Can Podcasting Help Me Get More Clients?
- Helps you expand your network like never before
- Connects you with potential buyers and helps them get to know you better
- Builds up your personal brand
In order to get started, all you need is a microphone and a quiet place to record. To make your podcasts more engaging, inviting guests is a good idea.
To launch your podcast, create an account on podcast directories like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Youtube.
10. Go out and Meet Other Real Estate Agents
Meeting other real estate agents is a great way to build your network. Develop relationships with other real estate professionals, including lenders, real estate investors, and agents. The more people you know in the industry, the more likely you will hear about new opportunities.
This can be anything from finding out about a new development that is being built in your area to hearing about a new marketing campaign that is being launched by a local agent.
How Can Meeting Other Real Estate Agents Get Me More Clients?
- Expands your network. The more people you know, the better your chances of finding new clients are.
- You can get referrals from other agents if they know someone looking for property in your area.
- Learning about the latest industry news and trends helps you to stay ahead of the curve and offer your clients the best possible service.
11. Host Open Houses for Listing Agents
If you’re looking for immediate results, one of the best things you can do is host an open house for listing agents. You’ll be able to meet potential clients in person and get a feel for what they’re looking for. You can also hand out business cards and brochures.
How Can Hosting Open Houses Get Me More Clients?
- Getting to know potential clients in person.
- You will have the opportunity to introduce yourself and your services.
- You can hand out marketing materials like business cards and give you a chance to show off your knowledge about the local market and your sales skills.
This way, you’ll have a constant stream of potential customers coming through. And, if you do a good job, the listing agent may even refer you to their clients.
12. Localized Listings Are a Must
A local listing is an online mention of your business. These listings can occur in local directories, websites, apps, or social media. Local listings help users to find local businesses, meaning potential clients searching for your service.
How Can Localized Listings Help Me Get More Clients?
- Get your name in front of potential clients.
- Establish your personal brand as a real estate professional.
- Get involved with local businesses.
13. Volunteer in Your Community
Volunteering is a great way to get your name out there and connect with new people in your community. It can also be a great way to connect with potential clients. When you volunteer, you are showing that you are a reliable and caring person. This is an important quality for prospective clients to see in a real estate agent.
How Can Volunteering Help Me To Get More Clients?
- Potential customers will see that you care and want to make a difference in the community.
- Volunteering helps you to build stronger relationships that can be valuable when finding new clients.
- Volunteering boosts your name and personal brand in your local area.
14. Take a Reporter Out to Lunch
One of the most effective marketing techniques is taking a reporter out to lunch. A one-on-one interview gives you an opportunity to get to know the reporter’s personally, and you can possibly be featured in an article.
How Can Meeting a Reporter Get Me More Clients?
- A possibility to get your name in the local newspaper.
- A newspaper article about you will boost your name and credibility in the local area.
- If the reporter needs your help in the future, they will remember you. That way you can build a business relationship where both benefit.
When you have something newsworthy to share, they’ll be more likely to write about it. When the local newspaper reader sees your name in print, they’ll be more likely to remember it the next time they’re looking for a real estate agent.
15. Use HARO to Turn Your Social Proof Up
If you don’t know what HARO is, it stands for Help A Reporter Out. It’s a website where reporters post requests for sources on a variety of topics. If you’re an expert in real estate, you can use HARO to become a source for reporters looking for quotes on the industry.
How Can HARO Help Me to Get More Clients?
- Possibility to get your name in the biggest magazines.
- Boosts your personal brand extensively.
- A possibility to get a direct link from a huge magazine to your own website (Boosts your traffic and overall website authority in Google’s eye).
HARO will only not get your name in the press, but it will also show buyers and sellers that you’re an authority in your field. And when people see that you’re an authority, they’re more likely to do business with you.
If you want to get more clients, sign up for HARO and start pitching your expertise to reporters. It’s a great way to build social proof and get your name out there. With HARO, you have a greater chance of getting good referrals if you already have a real estate blog. This will show reporters that you are more of an authority.
Plus, it’s free to sign up for and easy to use. So there’s no reason not to give it a try.
16. Referrals Are Your Biggest Friend
As a real estate agent, your best chance of getting new clients is through referrals. Ask past clients to provide you with referrals and offer them an incentive for doing so. If you have a good relationship with other agents in your area, they may also be willing to provide you with referrals.
How Can Referrals Help Me to Get More Clients?
- Referrals help you to get more clients because they provide you with a personal recommendation from someone who has already used your services.
- Referrals build trust with potential buyers and sellers. When people see that you have been recommended by someone they know and trust, they are more likely to do business with you.
- Referrals can also help you to stand out from your competition. If you are the only agent in your area with referrals, you are more likely to get new business. Add referrals/testimonials to your website and social media.
17. Don’t Ignore The Giant Websites
Websites like Zillow, Trulia, and Keller Williams are full of potential buyers and sellers for you. A potential buyer goes to these sites to begin their real estate search. While it may take some work to get them to convert, it’s worth it to spend some time on these websites.
How Can These Websites Help Me to Get New Clients?
- Paid advertising on these websites can help you to get more clients. By targeting your ads to potential clients, you will be able to reach them directly and increase your chances of getting selected.
- These giant websites can also help you to build relationships with other professionals in your industry. These relationships can be valuable when it comes time to find new clients.
Zillow has a great Premier Agent program that helps you to get connections from their large network of real estate agents. With the Zillow Premier Agent program, you can showcase your real estate profile to potential clients.
18. Buy from Your Prospective Clients’ Business
One of the best things you can do is buy from your prospective clients’ businesses. This shows that you’re interested in what they do and willing to support their business.
How Can Buying from Prospective Clients’ Businesses Get Me More Clients?
- Shows them you care about them as individuals, outside of the work environment
- Increases your network, your prospective clients can refer you to their friends and family as well
- Develops deeper relationships with potential buyers, which is essential to the success of a real estate business
Plus, you’ll get first-hand experience with their products and services, which can help you better understand their needs.
19. Remember Significant Things about Potential Clients and Follow Them on Social Media
This is a great way to show that you are interested in your potential clients and that you care about them as people, not just as leads. When you remember things about them and follow them on social media, it shows that you are invested in building a relationship with them.
How Can This Help Me to Get More Clients?
- Makes you stand out from the crowd of other real estate agents
- Keep your services within their reach by following them on social media
Plus, following them on social media is a great way to stay in touch with them!
20. Business Cards
Business cards are a must in the real estate industry. You will use them to introduce yourself to potential clients, and they will be a physical and digital reminder of who you are and what you do. Be sure to include all your contact information on your business card and any relevant credentials or designations.
To get started, create your business cards with tools like Canva. Canva offers you hundreds of free ready-to-use business card templates.
21. Work Your Sphere of Influence
Sphere of influence includes your friends and family, co-workers, and anyone else that you see on a regular basis. These are the people that you can easily talk to about your business.
If you’re looking to get more clients, start by leveraging the power of word-of-mouth. Talk to your friends, family, and current clients and ask them to spread the word about your services. You can also offer incentives for referrals, like discounts or free consultations.
When you work your sphere of influence, you can essentially turn these people into a network of potential buyers and sellers.
Wrap Up
We discussed 21 expert methods for approaching potential buyers and sellers in Real Estate, building your personal brand, marketing your listings, and generating referrals. By taking these steps and acting on them, you can kickstart your real estate career in a short period of time.
The most important thing you can do is to provide exceptional service to your clients. If you do that, the rest will take care of itself in the long term. Hopefully, you enjoyed reading these tips, if you have something to add, let us know in the comments!
About the author: Elmeri Palokangas is the founder of elmerpal.com, where he writes about topics like advertising, eCommerce, and digital marketing and online strategies. With a rich experience in the eCommerce space, Elmeri is passionate about sharing his knowledge with other entrepreneurs to help them maximize their sales.
